ON PRO HOCKEY

ON PRO HOCKEY; N.H.L.'s Northern Lights Starting to Dim

By Joe Lapointe

Published: February 21, 1993

While the expanding National Hockey League harvests a $100 million cash crop from the sunny, southern climes of Anaheim, Calif., and Miami, financial fault lines are widening in two places on its northern frontier.

Tremors are being felt in Edmonton, where the model franchise of the 1980's is becoming an embarrassment of the 90's, and in Minnesota, where the revival of two years ago might not be enough to keep the North Stars in one of the most sophisticated hockey markets in the United States.

First, Edmonton. Remember how baseball's Kansas City Athletics served as a de facto farm club for the Yankees in the 50's and 60's before they moved to Oakland?

This seems to be the model for the Oilers. They now supply other teams by trading and selling expensive players while their owner threatens to transfer the franchise.

With the season nearing the three-quarter mark, the Oilers, despite a 5-4 victory Thursday night over the champion Penguins in Pittsburgh, were 4 points out of the fourth and final playoff berth in the Smythe Division before Winnipeg's game last night at Vancouver.

If they fail to qualify for the post-season, it will be a first; the Oilers have played in 37 tournament rounds since joining the N.H.L. in 1979-80, when the World Hockey Association went out of business. Without the roughly $250,000 profit from each home playoff game, the owner, Peter Pocklington, speculates, the team will lose $2 million.

He has threatened to move to an undisclosed location unless he gets a better lease deal from Northlands Coliseum or a new building with more luxury suites. Fans who remember teams like the Baltimore Colts and the Brooklyn Dodgers know that such threats aren't always hollow. Pocklington traded Wayne Gretzky. Never say "never."

"It always comes as a great shock to people, but I don't know why," said Bill Tuele, the public relations director for the Oilers, referring to teams that move. "What's surprising about that? You either make it in business or you move."

The business community in Edmonton is taking Pocklington seriously. Gerry Yuen, president of the Northlands Coliseum board, is negotiating with Pocklington to buy the team.

"If we lose the Oilers, Edmonton will suffer from an economic and status point of view," Yuen said in a telephone interview. "Peter knows what we want and we continue to talk. We have the means to put it together. We have the financial backing."

As for their roster, the Oilers show evidence of the tough-mindedness of Glen Sather, their president and general manager. Right wing Joe Murphy tried to win himself a higher salary this season by sitting out. He hasn't played a game and hasn't earned a dollar. Sather didn't return calls seeking comment on the situation, but Tuele explained the Sather philosophy.

"Joe Murphy has one decent season," Tuele said. "Not great, not good, just decent, and he demands a million bucks. See you later, Joe. Have a nice life."

Gary Bettman, the new N.H.L. commissioner, said he talked with Pocklington about his alternatives to relocating.

"There are certain aspects of the Oilers' situation that are difficult for them to operate under," Bettman said, "and Peter Pocklington is working very hard on trying to remedy those situations so that it wouldn't be necessary."

Meanwhile, the Minnesota owner, Norman Green, spent part of last week in Dallas, investigating a possible move to Reunion Arena. After Green purchased the North Stars from the brothers Gordon and George Gund for the 1990-91 season and averted a move to San Jose, Calif., the team reached the Stanley Cup finals.

Despite increased attendance since then, Green insists he lost $10 million last season and will lose $5 million this season. Although the Twin Cities have three hockey arenas of major league quality, Green said none offers "appropriate assurances for the long-term viability of the franchise."

In a high-profile visit, Green toured Dallas with Roger Staubach, the former Cowboys quarterback. (Idle thought: If the North Stars move to Dallas and become the South Stars or the Lone Stars, wouldn't a natural rivalry be with Houston? But if the hockey Oilers move there, they couldn't keep their name because the National Football League franchise already uses it.)

More ominously, Bettman said this week that the league's board of governors has given Green permission to move his team. In seeking a "geographic footprint" for television, the N.H.L. has said it needs Texas to become more attractive to advertisers and networks.

Losing Edmonton would be embarrassing for Canada, but would bring hardly a shrug on Madison Avenue. A Dallas-Houston tandem would be a logical fit, and established organizations could field competitive teams there quickly. What about Minnesota and Edmonton? They could line up for expansion franchises. The N.H.L. has two more to award. All you need is money.